Pope John Paul II appointed Father Raymond Saeed apostolic administrator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan in Pakistan. Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa, then a monsignor and the acting chargé d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature in Islamabad, announced that Archbishop Renzo Fratini had informed Multan diocese of the appointment on September 17, 1998, before leaving his post as nuncio to Pakistan. Afflicted with diabetes and high blood pressure, Bishop Patras Yusaf has been ill for some time, and Father Saeed, Multan vicar general, has been handling many diocesan matters for the bishop. With the appointment he can administer the financial accounts as well.
A native of the diocese, Father Saeed, was born in 1948. He received his religious training at the Christ the King Seminary (Pakistan). He was ordained a priest in 1973 and studied at the East Asian Pastoral Institute in the Philippines in 1979.[1]
Bishop Patras Yusaf, the fourth bishop of Multan, after struggling with complications from diabetes and high blood pressure, died on December 29, 1998. On December 31, Father Saeed concelebrated the funeral Mass with Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad and Monsignor Rugambwa Novatus, acting chargé d'affaires at the Apostolic Nunciature in Islamabad.[2]
Father Saeed continued to serve as apostolic administrator until January 10, 2000, when the Holy Father Pope John Paul II proclaimed Fr. Andrew Francis from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore as the new bishop of Multan.[3]
While a parish priest in Multan, Father Saeed spoke out against the illegal employment of children. In Multan's machine and welding shops, illegally employed children are exposed to skirmishes with death on a daily basis. The Pakistan Constitution states that "no children below the age of 14 years shall be engaged in any factory or other form of hazardous employment." The law, however, is violated with impunity. According to a recent study, 13 million children under the age of 14 are illegally employed in the country's shops.[4]